This is a new TED talk lesson plan for higher levels (C1+) on the subject of bio-engineering and cloning. Thanks to my colleague Cliff Grossman for recommending this fascinating talk. You can download the materials below:

This is a new TED talk lesson plan for C1+ students. You can either set the TED talk with the comprehension questions as homework or watch the talk in class as it’s only 12 minutes long. Download the handout and teacher’s notes below:

Now you might be thinkingI’ve pulled this number out of the air for shock value.

So the idea of the pre-mortem is to think ahead of timeto the questions that you might be able to ask that will push the conversation forward. You don’t want to have to manufacture all of this on the spot.

You might change your mind in the heat of the moment,but at least you’re practiced with this kind of thinking.

So I’m not completely organized,but I see organization as a gradual process, and I’m getting there.

Comprehension Questions

What happens in the anecdote Daniel tells at the start of the talk?

What were the consequences of Daniels clouded thinking?

What is the solution he comes up with?

What are the two practical tips he gives for common problems?

What are the two questions he recommends asking to a doctor before they prescribe you a drug?

What was the historical advantage to the brain releasing cortisol in stressful situations?

Discussion Questions

What did you think of the talk?

Have you ever been in a similar situation to the one Daniel describes in his anecdote? What did you do?

Have you ever forgotten a passport or boarding card when flying somewhere? What did you do?

Are you an absent-minded person? What things do you lose/misplace? Where do you keep your keys/mobile/wallet at home?

In what situations is it good idea to predict the possible problems that could occur?

Are you good at making decisions under pressure?

What do you think of what he says about the medical industry?

Would you trade quality of life for a longer life?

Pre-mortem

What things could possibly go wrong in these situations, and how could you prepare for the problems?

A job interview

Travelling by plane

An important exam

A first date

A wedding

The first day at a new job

A surprise party

Climbing a mountain

Teacher’s notes

Language Focus

In the dead of winter/night = in the middle of

Fumble = to feel/do something clumsily/inefficiently

Clouds your thinking = confuses/affects your thinking in a bad way

Pull a number out of the air = invent a number in the moment of speaking

For shock value = in order to cause shock

On the spot = in the moment of speaking, also “to put someone on the spot” = force someone to answer a difficult question without preparation.

In the heat of the moment = do something while stressed/angry/excited

I’m getting there = I’m making progress

Comprehension questions

He forgets his keys so has to smash the basement window to get into his house.

He forgets his passport the next morning when he goes to the airport.

To perform a “pre-mortem” evaluation of possible problems that could occur.

Designate a place for commonly lost things: keys, wallet etc. Take a photo of things you might lose while travelling: credit card, passport, keys and save it to the cloud to make it easier to get them back.

This is a conversation lesson plan based around Rita Pierson’s TED talk entitled: Every Kid Needs a Champion it’s suitable for C1+ although high B2s might be able to deal with it if you break the video up a bit. Download the handout below:

A colleague said to me one time, “They don’t pay me to like the kids. They pay me to teach a lesson. The kids should learn it. I should teach it, they should learn it, Case closed.”

Well, I said to her, “You know, kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.”

What do you think of the teacher’s quotes? Do you agree?

Do students have to like their teacher to learn from them?

“How do I raise the self-esteem of a child and his academic achievement at the same time?”

How important is it that a teacher raises their students’ self-esteem?

What methods does Rita mention? What other ways can they do it?

“One year I came up with a bright idea. I told all my students, “You were chosen to be in my class because I am the best teacher and you are the best students, they put us all together so we could show everybody else how to do it.”

“I gave a quiz, 20 questions. A student missed 18. I put a “+2” on his paper and a big smiley face.”

What do you think of these methods? Do you think they would work?

“Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.”

This is a lesson plan for C1+ students on the topic of bad habits based around a TED talk by Judson Brewer and an article from Yahoo Health. You can find the TED talk, students’ handout, reading text and teacher’s notes below:

What do you think these expressions mean? Do they exist in your language?

He’s been smoking since he was 15 years old and he just can’t kick the habit.

When my grandad retired he didn’t stop getting up at 6am and putting a suit on. Old habits die hard.

I could never go backpacking I’m too much of a creature of habit, I can’t stand changes to my routine.

I’ve always written my essays at the last minute and I normally get good marks. Why break the habit of a lifetime?

Kick the habit = give up/quit a bad habit

Old habits die hard = it’s difficult to stop a habit you’ve been doing for a long time

A creature of habit = someone who likes the security of a routine

Why break the habit of a lifetime? = something you say to a person you know isn’t going to change their habits.

Step 2: Brainstorm bad habits on the board

Step 3: Reading

Give out the reading handout, put students in groups of 3. Students read each section then discuss the meaning of the vocabulary in bold. Then they answer the discusssion questions. Then they move onto the next bad habit.

Step 4: TED Talk

Students watch the TED talk and answer the following questions:

What bad habits does he mention? Being unable to concentrate, phone/internet addiction, stress eating, smoking, distracting yourself from work.

What solution to these bad habits does he suggest? Using mindfulness to focus on the cravings we feel and see them as physical moments that pass.

After watching students discuss:

What do you think of the talk?

Do you have any of the bad habits he mentioned?

Do you think mindfulness would work for you?

Have you ever meditated? Would you consider it?

Step 5: Vocab Focus – Meaning from Context

Students try to guess the meaning of the expressions in bold from the context.

When I was first learning to meditate, the instruction was to simply pay attention to my breath, and when my mind wandered, to bring it back.

Why is it so hard to pay attention? Well, studies show that even when we’re really trying to pay attention to something — like maybe this talk — at some point, about half of us will drift off into a daydream, or have this urge to check our Twitter feed.

Maybe in our teenage years, we were a nerd at school, and we see those rebel kids outside smoking and we think, “Hey, I want to be cool.” So we start smoking. The Marlboro Man wasn’t a dork, and that was no accident.

What if instead of fighting our brains, or trying to force ourselves to pay attention,we instead tapped into this natural, reward-based learning process?

She moved from knowing in her head that smoking was bad for her to knowing it in her bones, and the spell of smoking was broken. She started to become disenchanted with her behavior.

When the prefrontal cortex goes offline, we fall back into our old habits, which is why this disenchantment is so important.

And this is what mindfulness is all about: Seeing really clearly what we get when we get caught up in our behaviors.

We start to notice that cravings are simply made up of body sensations — oh, there’s tightness, there’s tension, there’s restlessness.

These are bite-size pieces of experiences that we can manage from moment to moment rather than getting clobbered by this huge, scary craving that we choke on.

Mind wanders/drift off into a daydream = get distracted

Have/get an urge to do something = a strong desire/impulse

Trigger (v) = activate/set off/cause to function

Nerd = unpopular, studious person

Dork = unpopular, studious person, more pejorative than nerd

Tap into = manage to use something in a way that gives good results. Get access to a resource. Collocations: tap into an energy source, tap into creativity, tap into the water supply.

Get caught up in st = to become completely involved in something, normally bad connotation.

Craving = a consuming desire, normally physical related to addiction.

Restlessness = a state of discomfort, can’t stay still/relax. A restless night.

Bite-size pieces = small easy to manage pieces

Get clobbered = to be beaten/hit severly

Choke on st = not able to breath because of something in your throat

Step 6: Sentence Completion

Students put the expressions from the vocab focus into the following sentences:

He was always so restless at school, he couldn’t sit still for a second.

I’m a bit weird, whenever I go near the edge of a cliff or a tall building I get the sudden urge to jump off!

Don’t worry, everything is going to be alright, I don’t know how but I feel/know it in my bones.

I managed to stop biting my fingernails for 6 months but recently, because of all the stress at work, I have fallen back into old habits.

Most voters are completely disenchanted with politics in general and extremist politicians like Donald Trump are simply tapping into the anger and resentment.

When my Mum was pregnant she had strong cravings for avocado even though she normally hates them.

The earthquake triggered a huge tsunami that hit the coast at 10am.

When I was at school I always used to get into trouble for drifting off into a daydream during class.

3 hours into the film I got a bit bored and my mind wandered to what I was going to have for dinner.

A man suddenly started to choke on a prawn and a fellow diner had to give him the heimlich maneuver.

I was definitely a bit of a nerd at school but I certainly wasn’t a dork.

I got so caught up in the excitement of the party that I didn’t realise I had missed the last train home.

He caught the rugby ball, turned around and was immediately clobbered by a huge opposition player.

I broke the carrots up into bite-size pieces so that the children wouldn’t choke on

Step 7: Discussion

Students answer questions in pairs.

Were you restless at school? Did you use to drift off into a daydream?

Do you know the heimlich maneuver? Have you ever choked on anything?

Were you a nerd when you were at school?

Do you ever get so caught up in something that you lose all sense of time?

Do you ever get the urge to do something silly or outrageous in social situations?

Do you agree with sentence 5 above? What can we do to change the situation?

Students’ Handout

Expressions with habit

What do you think these expressions mean? Do they exist in your language?

He’s been smoking since he was 15 years old and he just can’t kick the habit.

When my grandad retired he didn’t stop getting up at 6am and putting a suit on. Old habits die hard.

I could never go backpacking I’m too much of a creature of habit, I can’t stand changes to my routine.

I’ve always written my essays at the last minute and I normally get good marks. Why break the habit of a lifetime?

TED Talk

What bad habits does he mention?

What solution to these bad habits does he suggest?

Discussion

What do you think of the talk?

Do you have any of the bad habits he mentioned?

Do you think mindfulness would work for you?

Have you ever meditated? Would you consider it?

Vocabulary Focus

Read the sentences from the transcript and discuss the words/expressions in bold with your partner.

When I was first learning to meditate, the instruction was to simply pay attention to my breath, and when my mind wandered, to bring it back.

Why is it so hard to pay attention? Well, studies show that even when we’re really trying to pay attention to something — like maybe this talk — at some point, about half of us will drift off into a daydream, or have this urge to check our Twitter feed.

Maybe in our teenage years, we were a nerd at school, and we see those rebel kids outside smoking and we think, “Hey, I want to be cool.” So we start smoking. The Marlboro Man wasn’t a dork, and that was no accident.

What if instead of fighting our brains, or trying to force ourselves to pay attention,we instead tapped into this natural, reward-based learning process?

She moved from knowing in her head that smoking was bad for her to knowing it in her bones, and the spell of smoking was broken. She started to become disenchanted with her behavior.

When the prefrontal cortex goes offline, we fall back into our old habits, which is why this disenchantment is so important.

And this is what mindfulness is all about: Seeing really clearly what we get when we get caught up in our behaviors.

We start to notice that cravings are simply made up of body sensations — oh, there’s tightness, there’s tension, there’s restlessness.

These are bite-size pieces of experiences that we can manage from moment to moment rather than getting clobbered by this huge, scary craving that we choke on.

Sentence Completion

Complete the sentences with the expressions above.

He was always so ______________ at school, he couldn’t sit still for a second.

I’m a bit weird, whenever I go near the edge of a cliff or a tall building I get the sudden __________ jump off!

Don’t worry, everything is going to be alright, I don’t know how but I ______________________.

I managed to stop biting my fingernails for 6 months but recently, because of all the stress at work, I have __________________________________.

Most voters are completely __________________________ politics in general and extremist politicians like Donald Trump are simply ____________________________ the anger and resentment.

When my Mum was pregnant she had strong _____________ for avocado even though she normally hates them.

The earthquake _______________ a huge tsunami that hit the coast at 10am.

When I was at school I always used to get into trouble for _______________________________ during class.

3 hours into the film I got a bit bored and my ____________________________ to what I was going to have for dinner.

A man suddenly started to ________________ a prawn and a fellow diner had to give him the heimlich maneuver.

I was definitely a bit of a _____________ at school but I certainly wasn’t a ____________.

I _________________________________ in the excitement of the party that I didn’t realise I had missed the last train home.

He caught the rugby ball, turned around and was immediately ___________________ by a huge opposition player.

I broke the carrots up into __________________ so that the children wouldn’t ___________ them.

Discussion

Were you restless at school? Did you use to drift off into a daydream?

Do you know the heimlich maneuver? Have you ever choked on anything?

Were you a nerd when you were at school?

Do you ever get so caught up in something that you lose all sense of time?

Do you ever get the urge to do something silly or outrageous in social situations?

Do you agree with sentence 5 above? What can we do to change the situation?

Reading Text

Common Bad Habits

Everyone has habits that they would probably be better off without. You may not have any major vices but minor ones add up and deserve attention too. “The small stuff really matters in our lives,” says Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and author of Uncovering Happiness: Overcoming Depression with Mindfulness and Self-Compassion. “Life is full of the little things.”

In reality, you’re probably not eating poorly or shirking on sleep just once a month, but, more likely, multiple times a week. If you need some help identifying changes you might aim to make, here are some of the most common bad habits and two universal fixes from Goldstein about how we can change for the better.

Stress-Eating

We’re a country of high-stress and high-calorie foods, so it should be no surprise that emotional eating is a common issue. There are many reasons people turn to food when they experience negative emotions, like stress, sadness, and boredom. First of all, food can serve as a distraction from unpleasant goings-on. Research has also suggested that foods that are high in fat and sugar may actually (temporarily) quiet parts of the brain that create and process negative emotions.

Do you stress eat? If so what?

How do you relieve stress?

Sitting Around

Surveys have found that people, on average, spend more than six hours a day sitting. Many people sit while commuting, at work, and while unwinding at the end of the day. It may feel like your body is happier taking a seat, but spending so much time off your feet has serious health effects including increased risk of obesity, diabetes, cognitive decline (like dementia), cancer, bone loss, and even a weakened immune system.

How much of the day do you spend sitting down?

What do you think of the idea of a standing office? Or a standing school?

Not Getting Enough Sleep

Days can feel far too short, especially when you want to catch up with friends at a late dinner or binge-watch your favorite show. Late nights in moderation are okay but getting too little sleep — less than seven hours — on a regular basis can make you more prone to long-term diseases, like hypertension and diabetes, and even short-term illness. Being tired can also affect how you function during the daytime, making you less productive and more prone to errors and accidents.

How much sleep do you need to function well?

How much do you usually get?

Are you more productive in the mornings or the evenings?

Over-Grooming

Picking at your nose and mouth and biting your nails are already social faux pas. They can also be bad for your health. As you should already know, our hands are usually teeming with nasty germs. Putting your fingers in your nose or mouth — even to fish unwanted spinach out of your teeth — is a good way to give those germs easy access to your body. Nail biting, in particular, can also raise your risk of getting skin infections on your fingers and spreading warts to other parts of your hand. In some cases, excessive grooming behaviors are considered a mental disorder related to obsessive-compulsive disorders.

Do you bite your fingernails?

Can you think of any other social faux pas’s? What topics are faux pas when your first meet someone?

Smoking

This may feel like beating a dead horse but more than 42 million people in the U.S. still smoke cigarettes. Although this number continues to drop, it’s good for people to remember why this habit is such a serious one. Smoking is known to cause several types of cancer — including cancers of the lung, mouth, stomach, and pancreas — and increases a person’s risk of heart disease. It’s also harmful to people who are inhaling second-hand smoke. Plus, smoking is expensive. Even a “cheap” $5 pack every day adds up to $1,825.00 each year.

Do you smoke?

Have you ever smoked? If so how did you quit?

What’s the best way to quit smoking? Hypnosis? Acupuncture? Patches? Gum?

Skipping Breakfast

There are mixed findings about whether or not skipping breakfast can help people lose weight. Generally, experts support eating a healthy morning meal because it fuels your body and mind for the beginning of the day. Research has shown that people who eat breakfast perform better in school and at work. If that’s not enough incentive, a recent study from Harvard found that men who regularly skipped breakfast were 27 percent more likely to experience a heart attack or death from coronary heart disease.

Do you have breakfast?

Find out who has the healthiest breakfast in your group.

What’s your favourite meal of the day?

Overspending

Another common bad habit is overspending, usually in the form of compulsive shopping. Credit is partially to blame because it is easy to obtain and use, helping people forgo responsibility and knowledge about their finances. Overspending is also an easy trap to fall into because buying things makes people feel good in many different ways. It can give us a sense of control and add some excitement to a dull day. Being able to spend money can also make us feel better about ourselves.

Do you often overspend?

Are you a compulsive shopper? If so what do you normally buy?

Listening to Loud Music

Hearing is something that often goes with age but there are still steps people can take to give theirs its best possible chance. Very loud, short-term sounds and sounds that may not seem so loud (but occur over a long period of time) can both contribute to noise-induced hearing loss. This affects about 15 percent of Americans, ages 20 to 69 according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Some loud sounds may be unavoidable but exposure anything above 85 decibels (equal to the sound of heavy city traffic) should be minimized. If you have to raise your voice to speak with someone two to three feet away, the sound level is likely over 85 decibels.

Do you listen to loud music? If so how often?

Have you got god hearing?

Phone Addiction

No, your phone isn’t exactly the most threatening addiction. That doesn’t mean it’s something to ignore. Thanks to the advent of push notifications, many of us are now trained to grab our phone the second it flashes — or when we only think it has. This behavior takes our attention away from other things that we should probably value more, like the work in front of us or talking with friends and family.

Note: These classes were designed for a two hour post proficiency conversation class. I normally set the video as homework for my students the week before.

Warmer – Two truths one lie

The old classic activity. Write three sentences about yourself on the board; two true and one false, I wrote:

I met Leo Messi and Mascherano on the beach.

I collect comic books.

I used to be a builder before I was a teacher.

Give students two minutes to ask you questions to try and catch you in a lie. Then they must say which one they think is true and explain why, did they pick up on any vocal or body language signals. Then reveal which one is a lie (number 2 for me). Award one point to each student that guessed correctly and one point to yourself for each student you duped.

Now give students five minutes to do the same; write three sentences about themselves, two true, one false and continue the game. The winner is the person with the most points, who earns the title master liespotter.

Who was the best liar?

Who was the best liespotter?

Vocabulary Matching

Give out the vocabulary matching sheet and the transcript. Put students in pairs and have them complete the exercise, the vocabulary words are in order as they appear in the transcript so if they get stuck they can find the word in context to aid their understanding.

What do you think would be the most difficult thing for a blind person to do?

Show the video.

Discussion Questions

What was your initial reaction to the video?

What did you think when you first saw Daniel?

What did he say about the way in which people treat and react to blind people in society?

What’s his message?

Describe how he navigates the world.

What does he call this system?

Do you think you could use flash sonar?

Do you think you have good eyesight/a good sense of smell etc.?

sight/vision

smell

taste

touch

hearing

With a partner try to put your senses in order of importance. (This should spark off a lively debate)

Try and come up with a definitive order as a class.

If you had to lose one of your senses, which would you choose and why?

Debate

Divide the class into 5 groups and write the 5 senses on small pieces of paper. Each group picks a piece of paper, they then have to explain why the sense they have picked is the most important. Give them a few minutes to think of some arguments and every day situations to back them up.

Follow up activity

Students write a CAE/CPE report/proposal detailing ways in which a school or public space could be adapted for blind people. Alternatively, you could set an essay based on the TED talk evaluating Daniel Kish’s upbringing compared to more conventional parenting styles for blind/disabled children.

This is another TED Talk lesson, this time based around Sir Ken Robinson’s fascinating talk on creativity in the education system. Please find an annotated transcript below. All I’ve done is underlined some interesting points he makes and vocabulary he uses, you can use them as a jumping off point for class discussion or simply mine them for useful vocabulary.